Missing plane thought to be in North Okanagan

The family of a man whose plane went missing in November, believes they may have a clue that could lead to his discovery near Enderby.

Ashley Bourgeault and her boyfriend, pilot Dominic Neron, 28, left from Penticton on Nov. 25, 2017 at 2:30 p.m., en route to Edmonton in a single-engine Mooney airplane. When their plane failed to arrive, it was speculated that the aircraft went down. The last evidence of their location came late that evening when a tower picked up a ping from Neron’s cell phone, approximately 20 kilometres northeast of Revelstoke.

A recent development now has the family wondering if the plane could be in the North Okanagan, near Mabel Lake.

On Monday afternoon, Neron’s sister, Tammy said a witness contacted her and reported seeing a burgundy plane around 4:45 on Nov. 25. In a post on her Facebook page, Missing Plane: Find Dominic and Ashley, Neron said the witness reported the plane’s landing gear was fully extended, and it was travelling north to north west.

“Dominic had mentioned, should weather be bad that day he would land in Golden, or Revelstoke, or if it was really bad he would head back to Salmon Arm,” said Tammy. “Landing in Salmon Arm would fit this timeline of being spotted near Mabel Lake.”

At this point, Tammy said the family has accepted that Dominic and Ashley may have “passed on.” Her hope is that his plane will be located and friends and families “can get closure.”

She intends to continue search efforts as soon as the snow has melted and is encouraging anyone with any information on the incident, or who might have seen something, to contact her through Facebook on Missing Plane: Find Dominic and Ashley or by phone at 780.405.7649.